


The Great Divide Chapter 22: Defeated

by Antigravity_Carnivore



Series: The Great Divide [22]
Category: Breaking Benjamin (Band), STARSET (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Computers, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F.E.C., F/M, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Gay, M/M, Near Future, Rebellion, Science, Science Fiction, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 07:25:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13922238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antigravity_Carnivore/pseuds/Antigravity_Carnivore
Summary: After finding Benjamin Burnley, Thomas Bell and Lizzie try to escape the F.E.C. base, but standing in their way is Burnley.





	The Great Divide Chapter 22: Defeated

I hesitated and looked over my shoulder at her. “What about him?” I asked, trying to contain myself. I could feel the sickening feeling I had once before returning to the pit of my stomach, churning away and threatening to make me ill.

“Burnley did something to him.” She said meekly.

“Yes, you told me that he tortured him, several times.” I replied, starting to get more than a little annoyed. I wanted to go over there to him and let him know I was here. He needed me.

“No. It’s more than that… his eyes… I saw…”

“BROCK STOP!” Ben’s loud baritone voice suddenly interrupted us and I cursed myself for taking my eyes off of the gurney for a second. Glancing over, I saw Brock standing by the head of the bed, holding something in his hand and staring down at Ben. Lizzie was at my side in a second, giving me a shocked look. Slowly, I started to walk across the room, and I was only a few feet away from the stretcher when Brock pulled his gun out of the Messenger bag he had placed on the bed and pointed it at me.

“Stay right there, both of you!” He snarled. I could now see that he held the weapon in his shaking hand, while the other broken hand, he held a large syringe that was filled to the maximum with a all too familiar swirling amber liquid. He had the needle angled sharply aimed for Ben’s neck, poised and ready to be injected. Ben’s eyes shifted from Brock to me, and my heart exploded with emotion. This was the man that I had sacrificed so much for, the man that I loved above all other things, and the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. He was no longer afflicted with blindness, and I knew from the expression on his face that he remembered me. I needed to touch him, I wanted to make sure that he was real, and not some sort of dream or illusion that was running rampant through my head, but I dare not take one step further. As his beautiful gray-green eyes locked onto me, they caught a bit of light and I gasped. They were laced with flecks of amber.

“No.” I whispered underneath my breath. No one heard it but Lizzie, who caught up with me to stand by my side. She gently laid a hand on my arm.

“This is what I was trying to tell you. Burnley did this.” She said quietly. I immediately pulled her hand off my arm and pushed it back down to her side.

I wasn’t even paying attention to what Lizzie was saying. All I could focus on were those eyes, looking right at me, begging me, pleading with me to end this. For a moment, everything vanished, and all I could see was him, the magnificent Benjamin Burnley, laying there on a blood soaked gurney, brought down and humbled by his own son, and now being held prisoner by someone that we all once loved and trusted. It was almost too much for me to bear. He had aged, considerably since that last night we spent together, and a thick beard almost obscured his cracked, dry lips, but I could still tell that face anywhere. He quietly murmured my name, “Dustin” and my already bruised and battered heart shattered.

Hearing his voice for the first time calling my name, made me move without thinking, and I took a step forward towards him and then Brock suddenly called out “Don’t you fucking move.” I looked up to him and saw that he had now jammed the very tip of the needle into the flesh of Ben’s neck, and a very tiny pin point of blood started welling up underneath it. He kept his thumb positioned over the plunger, almost daring me to keep moving and cause him to inject the drug.

I stopped moving again and held a hand up. “Brock, I don’t know what’s going on here, but this needs to stop. Please. Put the gun down and hand over that syringe. We can talk through this.”

He laughed and shook his head. “I’ve said everything that I need to say to you out in that corridor, Dustin, but you obviously weren’t listening, were you? It’s useless talking to you.” He motioned towards the syringe in his hand with the gun. “Do you know what is in here? This is a super concentrated, high dose of the Eden drug, more powerful and potent than you can ever imagine, ten times the strength that was used on Burnley. He gave it to me and asked me to use it on Benjamin in exchange for helping me get home, and I accepted, even knowing that this would kill Ben. This was a choice that I made on my own, because I realized that I can’t stay here anymore. There’s nothing for me on Prox. If I take Ben’s life, I have a chance at getting my own back.”

“Brock, this is insane. Burnley is dead, you saw me kill him! There is no need for you to go through with this. He was just using you and---“ I stopped because I realized that Ben turned away from me and had his eyes focused up on a point in the ceiling. Still trapped in the mechanical locks, I could see that his hands were tightened into fists and there was a aura of rage that was surrounding him now. I put a hand over my mouth and I heard Lizzie behind me gasp. Ben didn’t know that I murdered his son, and I just suddenly blurted it out carelessly.

Smiling wickedly, Brock removed the tip of the syringe from Ben’s neck but didn’t move it away, still keeping the gun pointed directly at Lizzie and I. “Benjamin, did you hear? Dustin confessed to killing Burnley! What do you think of that?” Benjamin didn’t answer Brock, but instead kept his gaze trained at a point high overhead. It was so unusual for Ben to be so quiet.

I was relieved that Brock took the syringe away, but it was little consolation for the damage that I had already done with my casual words. “Ben, listen… Burnley did some terrible things to a lot of people, even you. I understand that he was your flesh and blood, but he was not your son anymore, Ben. He was a monster that the F.E.C. created to destroy the messengers. He was lost from the very moment that he was brought here to Prox. All the innocence and love of that little three year old boy died on that day, leaving behind a heartless, cruel man who was capable of committing some truly horrible crimes.” I could feel the anger building up inside of me the more that I spoke. I didn’t want to throw all this information at Ben at once, but once I started, I found that it was difficult to stop. I wanted to kick and punch things, scream out in rage at the whole situation, but all I could do was stand there. “He tortured you, Ben… He assaulted Selene, destroying her life’s work, turned Lizzie into a Carnivore… and…”

“I know what he did to you, Dustin. He told me about the rape.” Ben said softly. I had to force myself to keep breathing, I felt like all the air was being sucked out of my lungs when he spoke. His voice was low and deep, with a certain sinister feeling to it. This was almost the exact same feeling I had when I first met him back in the hotel room so many years ago. My hands started to shake and I felt weak in the knees. “There is a line that separates good from evil. I used to think that I knew where it was.” He said weakly. “I thought that you could see it when you looked at a person, at the things he’s done in the past, the words he uses, and how he treats his fellow man. I thought that it would be obvious as night and day, but I was wrong. You can’t see this line, Dustin because it’s not something you can see, feel or touch. It exists only in the human heart. This line shifts inside us, moving with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small miniscule fraction of good is retained, even in the best of all hearts, there remains an uprooted small corner of evil. I can’t completely believe that my son was totally consumed by darkness, if I did, then what kind of parent would that make me? I promised him that I would never abandon him, and I would still make good on that promise…even now…after his death.” Ben turned again to look at me and I couldn’t bear to see the pain reflected there. It was more than a physical pain from the torture he had to endure; it was an intense mental anguish that I was now causing him, a punishment more severe than anything Burnley could have ever done. “Little Benjamin...He loved playing in the rain…”

Overcome with sorrow, I dropped down to my knees and hit the floor. I could feel Lizzie’s hand touch my shoulder. “I am sorry Ben, I am so sorry.”

Brock clutched the syringe in his hand once again and brought it back to Ben’s neck. I noticed that he didn’t fight against it or struggle in anyway. He had given up. “Its better this way, trust me Dustin.” Brock said. “Benjamin loves you just as much as I do and you betrayed him as well. Burnley had the right idea. Love like the two of you have isn’t meant to really exist. It’s an abomination that needs to be destroyed. You were so close to having a life without him, but you just couldn’t find the strength to let him go. So I am going to help you.” Shoving the needle into Ben’s neck, I saw him tense up and freeze as the length of the sharp piece of metal pierced his skin. All that was left was for Brock to push down on the plunger and the drug would be dispersed into his body.

“Brock, please don’t do this. We’re so close to getting out of here and going home. Ben has done nothing against you. It was Burnley who corrupted your thoughts and convinced you to do this. Please just put the syringe down and give me the gun.” I pleaded with him.

“I AM going home, but not here on Prox. I am going back to where I belong, on Earth.” Brock shouted back at me. “I know the location of the Everything Machine and how to use it. I want to get away from you, and this awful place! Once I leave, you can do whatever it is that you want, but not with him.” He motioned to Ben. “I am taking the only one thing you care about away from you, so you know how I have felt for all these years. Fuck you, Fuck him and FUCK THIS PLANET!”

Lizzie moved out from behind me and stepped forward. “No you’re not. You’re not going anywhere Brock. If you use that Machine one more time, we’re all going to die, and I am not going to let that happen.” I saw Brock smile at her for a moment, thinking it some sort of joke and then she reached down into her pocket, and withdrew her gun and brought it up, pointing it at Brock. “You saved my life by helping me escape from the F.E.C., and I will always be grateful to you for that. I love you so much, Brock, you’re like the big brother I never had, but I can’t let you destroy Prox. It’s not your home, but it’s MINE! I have to stop you.” I could hear the buzzing of electricity through the weapon in my ears as she powered it up with one quick motion and had it armed and ready.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I shouted to her, “Lizzie NO!!” but it was too late. I didn’t even have time to fully register what was going on before she shot at Brock. I tried to stand up and lunge for the gun, but she was too fast. There was a loud noise as the bolt of electricity discharged filling the air with static that made the hair on my arms stand up. I managed to get her arms down, but it was too late. She had already shot Brock. I saw him fall down to the floor behind the gurney in a miserable heap; his weapon falling uselessly next to him. Lizzie sprinted over and kicked the gun away, standing over him with her weapon charging up, waiting to see if he moved.

“Lizzie!!! Stand down!” I shouted. I stood there in disbelief, I saw Ben move slightly trying to reach for the needle that was still protruding from his neck, but with his hands still bound, he couldn’t reach it. I glanced from him, to the motionless Brock on the floor. I had to make a choice which one to go to first. It didn’t take me long to decide. Slowly, I managed to collect myself and went over to the bed, finally able to be near Ben for the first time. I couldn’t look him in the eyes at first, I didn’t want to see those wild gray green irises tainted with amber or see the massive guilt and sorrow that I had caused him. I rested one of my hands on the bed where he was bound to, and reached over with the other one to remove the syringe still protruding from his neck, when I felt his fingers stretch out and touch mine. My heart skipped a beat. Slowly, I slid the needle out and threw it somewhere behind me in the room, where I heard it clatter and roll away out of sight.

“Dustin.” He said, and I finally managed to lay my eyes on him. There was something in his face that I had only ever seen once before, and that was a soft, gentle expression of total love and devotion… a moment when he let all of his guards down and let his soul shine through… and he was looking at me.

Choking back emotions, I noticed that my hand was trembling under his as I clutched onto the rail. The cool steel metal underneath my fingers was all I could concentrate on. I had to keep my eyes averted from the red patches of color that stained the sheet which was draped over him, I couldn’t think about what had been done to him. “Yes Ben?”

“Come here.” He said quietly. I didn’t exactly understand what he was asking, and then I noticed a button on the side of the bed that lowered the rail, which his wrists were still attached to. I pushed it and lowered it as far as I could, without causing him too much discomfort, praying that the weakness in my knees wouldn’t cause me to collapse onto him. I looked at him curiously, and he nodded to me. Stretching over the side of the gurney, I leaned in and placed my hand next to his side on the bed near where his wrist was bound and hovered my body over his as far as I could, keeping my feet on the floor. He reached out and pushed at the hand that I was supporting myself with causing my chest to press against his. I could feel the heat from his body through the thin sheet that separated us and it was completely wonderful. It instantly chased away all the frigid coolness that remained in the air and filled me with a rejuvenating energy that made my heart beat at a faster pace than ever before. We were now face to face, only inches apart. I could see his parched, cracked lips now, and was silently wondering how they would feel against mine. His kisses were always a bit rough and laced with such passion and desire that always left me wanting more, and I couldn’t help but to think that the blood on those once pink lips could be so delicious. No longer having to support my body, I reached up and placed a hand alongside of his face, feeling the rough stubble of his newly grown beard underneath my fingertips felt strange and foreign to me, and was far from what I was used to, but I didn’t hate it.

All the events of the past day suddenly caught up with me, including Burnley’s death and I was overcome with emotion. I started to weep in front of him, and I could do nothing but bury my head in shame down onto his chest. “Ben, I am so sorry.” I whimpered. “I tried so hard to come and save you, but I failed. I should have never left your side back at the base. I should have stayed with you, no matter what happened. I can’t ever imagine how hard it must have been for you, being locked up here, all alone in the darkness.” I heard the chains that were attached to his cuffs move slightly, and he drew a long, deep breath into his lungs. I patiently waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. I knew what he was waiting for. “…and I am sorry about Burnley…. I didn’t mean to… he made me… I just couldn’t help myself…” I couldn’t say anymore. The words stopped in my throat, cut off and forcing me to remain silent. I wanted to scream, I wanted to shout and yell, I wanted to make all his hurt and pain go away, but I knew that I couldn’t. Next to Ben, I knew that I was a useless, worthless man and no matter what I did, I could never live up to truly deserving his love and affection.

“Shut up Dustin.” Ben said in a stern, strong voice. A few moments of silence passed, and then he spoke again. “Come up here and kiss me.” My hearts pounded so fast, I thought that it would burst right through my chest and shatter my ribs. I pulled myself back up and looked into his eyes. The amber color seemed to be fading a bit, absorbed by the natural colors which made me feel a little more comfortable. I placed my hands on the sides of his face and leaned down, bringing my lips in close to his. I could feel his breath on my face and saw him close his eyes. I felt slightly awkward, partially lying on top of him, with only a thin sheet of material between us. Ben was always the one to initiate the kiss, being more assertive and confidant than I ever was, but as with a lot of things, change was inevitable. Our entire lives had been flipped upside down and changed since we arrived here on Prox, and I quickly learned that you had to roll with it, or be consumed by it. Tilting my head to the side, I let go of all my doubts and inhabitations and kissed Benjamin Burnley. Running my fingers down the sides of his face, I let my fingertips glide through this thick beard as my lips glided over his with ease, not even noticing how dry they were. His kiss was warm and fulfilling, reminding me of that last night that we had spent together inside the messenger’s base. I melted into him, my body momentarily going numb, and every ache and pain that I had endured since arriving on Prox fading away. I let my thumbs swirl over his cheekbones, wiping away the traces of dried tears that stained his beautiful face. This was what I was fighting for, the reason why I was still alive. This man, Benjamin who had suffered through a lifetime of pain and loss, was here with me now, in my arms, and I swore that I would never let him go again. Gently lifting my lips, but not wanting to ruin the moment, I rested my forehead against his and smiled, and he whispered to me, “I heard you calling from behind the star fields; I felt you; radiating energy like eternal northern lights… and I found you.” As the last word left his lips, I bent down and kissed him again, this time with such passion that I could hardly control it. So many emotions and feelings traveled through my lips and onto his, unspoken apologies and promises, reaffirmed with each passing moment of intimacy that flowed between us.

I heard a voice calling me. “Dustin.” I wanted it to go away. I wanted to stay here like this for the rest of my life. Let the world end, I could die happy here. “Dustin.” It repeated and I slowly opened my eyes. It was Lizzie. I pulled myself away from Ben for a moment, but reached out and took hold of one of his hands, lacing my fingers together with his, unwilling to let go. “Are you okay?” She asked.

Wiping at the corner of my eyes with my hand, I nodded to her. “Yeah, Lizzie I am fine.”

“I think Brock needs you.” She said, with a note of sadness in her voice.

I glanced at Ben, and he nodded. “Go.” 

My heart was soaring high into space when Ben and I kissed, and now at the mention of Brock’s name, it suddenly crashed back down to the ground. Lizzie had shot him, and I wasn’t sure that I could deal with his death just yet. I didn’t want to. I couldn’t even imagine the thought of my best friend being dead. It couldn’t happen. Lizzie gestured down to the floor, where Brock was sitting, his back up against the wall, holding onto his shoulder, with his head down, completely lethargic. I let go of Ben’s hand and walked over, kneeling down in front of him. He was still alive, but there was a large amount of blood trickling down from underneath his flight jacket and over the cast that encased his arm. Lizzie had been smart enough not to aim for any lethal areas, and for that I was grateful. “Can I talk to you for a moment, Brock?” I waited, but the only response I got was the quiet tapping of the blood dripping from his fingertips down onto the floor. Lizzie had come to stand beside me with her arms folded across her chest. I pointed to his shoulder, and she went to retrieve the medical kit that she had patched Ben up with. “Listen… what happened is not your fault, okay? Things just got really out of control, and fucked up. I know that you didn’t mean to hurt Ben, that’s not who you are, it was Burnley who manipulated you into this way of thinking.” I took a deep breath and tried to sound as reassuring as I could. “He does that to everyone. He’s a psychopathic narcissist who thinks that he can get into everyone’s head. He takes the things that you love and uses them against you. There’s no way to fight back against him, because he knows everything that you are going to say or do. I know that you want to go home Brock, we all do. I would love to have the chance to be on stage again, in front of all those people, with you and Adam, and Ron. But sadly that can never happen, Prox is our home now, Lizzie, Thomas, Selene, and Ben, they are our family. You might think that you’re on your own Brock, but you’re not. There is always a place for you.”

Brock didn’t even bother to lift his head up as he spoke. “Go away Dustin. Go back to your ‘family’ and perfect life here on Prox. I don’t want any part of it.” He clutched his fingers tighter around the massive hole in his shoulder and I could see that the bleeding continued at an alarming rate. Lizzie returned to my side and stood silently by with the medical kit in her hands. “Everything I’ve done since I set foot on this god damn planet was for you. So now it’s your turn to do something for me.”

“Anything, Brock. Just name it.”

Slowly he lifted his head up and I could see that he was pale white, with dark purple circles underneath his eyes and hollow cheekbones. The blood loss was even more rapid than I thought. He was bleeding out and dying right in front of us. Lizzie might not have hit him in any major organs, but the blast of energy must have hit a major artery in his arm. He had only minutes to live. “Leave me alone. Let me close my eyes and go to sleep. If you have any real love for me, you will do this.”

“No. That’s not an option.” I motioned for Lizzie, and she came around to his side and knelt down next to him, but did not touch him. She waited patiently. Gently, I picked up Brock’s good hand and held it in mine. I noticed how slender and fragile his fingers had become in the last few days. “I never told you this, but back on Earth, after everything that happened, Ron and Adam let me return to the beach house and stay there while I recovered. At first, I didn’t want to be there because of all memories that were locked away in those walls. It was a constant torment for me, sitting there in front of the recording equipment, trying desperately to write a song, and staring at a blank page. So often, I’d pick up one of your guitars and wrap my arms around it, reach out and touch the strings where your fingers had been, and just pretend that you weren’t gone. I even found the last pick that you used and slipped it into my pocket, carrying it with me every single day, because it made me feel a little closer to you.” I could feel his fingers shaking in my hand, and his skin start to go cold. Lizzie gave me a worried look. I had to hurry, we were losing him. “I missed you so much. Those days were sheer torment and hell for me. Eventually I took to going outside and walking on the beach. That’s when I found that cliff way up off the path. I climbed up there to get a better look at the ocean. The sand and wind, it felt so good against my skin, comforting and soothing. I felt that my life was hollow and empty without you… and Ben in it. I was greedy and I wanted both of you. It was at that moment that I realized that I loved you, Brock. I wanted it all and in the end, it was all taken away from me.” I hesitated for a moment, overwhelmed with emotion. “I made a mistake that day. I took my own life. I thought that it would take away all the pain, all the grief that I was feeling, but that wasn’t the case. It just transferred these feelings onto the ones that I left behind. I know that you are hurting now, but I am begging you… don’t make the same mistake I did. My feelings for you have not changed. I still love you, and I always will love you… No one can ever make me change how I feel about you, not Burnley, not Ben… no one. If you still have anything left inside of you, any shred of compassion then I am begging you, let us help you. Don’t give up. There’s still much to live for.”

One single tear slipped down Brock’s cheek and I knew that I had my answer. I nodded to Lizzie and together we carefully removed his blood soaked flight jacket. The wound in his upper arm was massive; it had blown away large amounts of tissue, leaving raw nerve endings and bone exposed. One look at it and my heart sank, Lizzie would be able to stop the bleeding and save his life, but with the broken bones in his hand, and this new injury in his arm, I knew that he would never be able to play guitar again. Brock knew it too, I could see it in his face. I made a comment to him earlier that his only true love and passion was his music, and now I wish that I had never said it. As Lizzie continued to work, and stitch up the wound, I could see a little color return to his face and his breathing steadied a bit. I stayed by his side the entire time, holding his hand. Eventually, he was able to look at me again and asked quietly. “How’s Benjamin doing?”

“He will be fine, if we can get him free from those locks.” I was a bit shocked by his sudden concern with Ben, but not surprised. I wanted to return to Ben’s side as quickly as possible, but I knew that it would have been a mistake. Brock needed me more than he did at the moment. I also knew that life after this wasn’t ever going to be the same. There would have to be a delicate balance between my relationship with both Benjamin and Brock, and it would certainly take a lot of adjusting to. Benjamin loved me, and we both wanted to be together, that was a given, but Brock… Brock would be a bit difficult. My only consolation was that now he knew exactly how I felt for him, that I did love him, but in a completely different way. He accepted the fact that I chose Ben to be with and that was a start, at least.

Lizzie sighed. “Thomas hasn’t returned yet, and I am starting to get worried.” She quickly glanced at the timer attached to her wrist and gave me a troubled glance. “We’re getting really low on time. We need to go start looking for him.”

I shook my head. “No. That’s a bad idea. We need to stay together. We’ve got two injured people here, and I refuse to leave them behind. If we split up, there is a chance that we might not be able to find one another again.” I was surprised by my own moment of confidence and the ability to make a decision without muddling it over inside my head. Things were changing. “We are going to find a way to get Ben out of those locks and then we will all go find Thomas as a group. No one is going off on their own.”

“Fine.” Lizzie said and went about her work. As she finished the bandage, Lizzie gently picked up Brock’s arm and found some straps of fabric to make shift sling. It looked crude, but it took the pressure of the wounded shoulder off his broken hand and wrist. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes as she stood up and went off back into the room, obviously upset with my choice. I could hear her speaking quietly to Benjamin behind me, probably filling him in on Brock’s condition and what I just said to him. She was worried about Thomas, and I wanted him to just suddenly walk into the room and put her mind at ease, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. The events of the last few days were emotionally and physically draining on all of us. I was desperate for a moment of peace, where I could close my eyes and get a good night’s sleep, and maybe a hot meal when I awoke, but I knew that we still had much to get through before we could make it to that point. When we found Benjamin, I thought for certain things would get easier, he could take over and lead us out of here, but that wasn’t the case. I found that he was being unusually quiet and submissive. His wounds were severe, but not enough to cause major weakness. There was something else going on with him that he wasn’t telling us. Those amber flecks inside of his eyes were proof. My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when I felt Brock touch my arm. “I can do it.” He said. I looked at him curiously. “Benjamin’s electronic locks. I can disable them. It would take me a few minutes, but I can do it.”

Every part of me wanted to scream ‘yes’ and carry Brock right over to Ben’s bed, but I knew that I had to handle the situation carefully. I didn’t know how Ben would feel with Brock standing over him again, but we were out of options. “Are you sure that you are okay to do this?” I asked cautiously.

Brock let his head lean back against the wall and took a deep breath. He looked so worn out and tired. Exhaustion was setting in and I wished that there was some way that I could help him. He was going through so much, both physically and mentally and it was taking its toll. I wanted him to look at me again with that brilliant, bright smile that he had always had before, I wanted him to laugh and be full of life and light, but I had a sinking feeling that wasn’t ever going to happen again.

“Benjamin used to say that he was attuned to water, that’s why he loved living on the beach.” Brock said quietly. “I never fully understood what he meant by this. I always thought that it was because he loved the ocean, but that’s not it at all. There’s a sense of beauty in those dark, churning, unforgiving waters. No matter what happens, the tide comes in every night, and creeps up onto the shore, washing everything away and leaving the sands barren and desolate. You can spend hours of daylight building the most magnificent sand castle, fortifying it with everything that you have, and be one hundred percent certain that what you’ve created will stand against those waters, forever. In the end, though, as the sun sets and the waters start to rise, the waves come and they crash against the structure, battering and cracking it, tearing it right down to its foundation. There isn’t anything you can do about it, but sit and watch as the precious thing that you’ve taken hours to build slowly fall away and disappears into nothing more than useless sand that flows through your fingertips and dissolves away.” Brock stopped and ran his fingers over his arm. “That’s all you and I have been doing, Dustin. Building castles in the sand. I think that it’s time that I accepted this.”

I felt like crying. I wanted to cry, I needed to cry, but I didn’t. Too many tears had been shed already and I was starting to feel as though the next time I cried, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. “I will never let you fade away, Brock. I am going to stand by your side and help you through whatever it is that you are going through. We’ve been a part of each other’s lives too long now to just throw all that away. Right now you’re conflicted and your heart and head are going in two separate directions, but you’ve got to try and hold it together. Let me be the light that helps to guide you home.”

“Selene said that the F.E.C. does more to people than just enslave them. They have a way of turning people against one another, and now for the first time I can clearly see how true this is. This place, Prox, changes people. It’s not the planet that’s doing it, or the people, it’s the ones who are in control of it. If we had never come here… If I had never seen you again…” his voice trailed off for a moment, and he became lost in his thoughts. After several silent moments, he looked over at me again. “I’ll do whatever it is that I can to help.” 

I forced myself to wait a moment or two before nodding to Brock. He was understanding and starting to come to his senses. I could see a serene calmness descend over him, and I instantly felt relieved. “Yes, please. We need to get Ben free so that we can get out of here. Try to make it quick.” I moved close to Brock, and put my arm around his waist, helping him to his feet and make it back across the room. He struggled a bit, wincing in pain and taking a moment to steady himself from the massive blood loss. He was slightly disorientated, but still ready and willing to help us out, and for that I greatly respected him. As we walked over to the gurney, Ben slowly opened his eyes again, and I waited to hear his protests but he remained silent. I looked down to see small droplets of blood, Brock’s blood covering his face, and for one brief moment I had to look away as a flash of memory of Burnley’s last moments came crashing into my head. I still had hold of Brock’s waist, helping him to walk across the room and for some reason, I clutched at him to keep from falling over. My hands frantically grabbed at his blood soaked undershirt, and I held on until the moment passed with my eyes closed.

Ben’s voice rang out in the large room. “Dustin, are you okay?”

I made myself calm down. I knew that there was no rational way that I could be looking at Burnley. He was dead. I killed him myself. This was Benjamin. I started to feel a little queasy, remembering that Burnley had said to me, ‘Even when you are with him, in the dead of night, or even in the middle of the day, there will be times when you turn to look at him, and you will see me there. When he touches you, it won’t be his fingers that caress your skin, but mine… and when you are at the height of pleasure, with Benjamin buried deep inside of you, leading you through the waves of ecstasy, it won’t be his name that you call out, but mine.’ “No!” I shouted. Swallowing back the bile as it rose from my stomach; I opened my eyes and saw Ben looking at me as I was hanging onto Brock. I guiltily let go of him and moved my hands from his shirt onto the metal rail. I noticed that my fingers were covered in blood, and they left behind bright red fingerprints on the shiny metal. Both Brock and Benjamin were staring at me. “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” I said. I couldn’t tell them the truth.

“Maybe you should go sit down for a while.” Brock said in a comforting tone. “I can decipher the codes alone.” I glanced at Ben and we both knew that Brock’s suggestion was completely out of the question. Even though I didn’t blame him for what happened, I couldn’t trust him to be alone with Ben, even for a short period of time. I wanted to, I really did, but sadly it was a risk that I wasn’t going to take, not at this stage of the game.

Shaking my head, I moved towards the opposite side of the gurney where I could keep a more watchful eye on him as he worked. “No, I’ll be okay. Please hurry Brock.”

Without a word of complaint, Brock shifted down to the locks at Ben’s ankles and started to cycle through the LED screen that flickered in the dim light. He started to work quickly, but was impeded by only having the use of one arm. I watched him as he calculated the codes with ease going over every possible combination in his head and then trying them out one at a time. He was brilliant. Within a few moments, he had the first shackle unlatched and off Ben’s ankle and then moved onto the next. At this rate, he’d be free in a few minutes.

It was quiet in the room. No one spoke. I wanted to talk to Ben, but I knew that anything I said might have the possibility of upsetting Brock, and we needed him so I chose not to say a word. After one of the locks was opened, I could tell that Ben was getting anxious and the small taste of freedom wasn’t enough. By the time that Brock got the second ankle lock decoded, Ben was starting to fidget and that made me nervous. I had to find a way to distract him. I tried desperately to think of something to say to him, but nothing came to mind that would be good for a group discussion. As Brock started on the wrist locks, it was Benjamin himself who broke the silence. “Did he suffer?” He asked, turning his eyes away from Brock and onto me. He wasn’t talking about Brock, he was referring to Burnley.

I didn’t know what to say. I decided the truth was the best option. I saw Brock’s fingers hesitate on the keypad for a moment, almost as if waiting for my response. I still didn’t know what his true feelings were towards Burnley, and at this point, I wasn’t sure if he’d ever tell me. “No Ben. It was quick and painless. There was no suffering at all.”

The expression on Ben's face changed to a more somber one. “I was drunk when she told me she was pregnant. Things were pretty bad at that point in my life. I lost three of my best friends, because they had stolen music from me. I was sitting at home doing absolutely nothing. That fucking disease was starting to take over, trapping me in my body one part at a time, ravaging my system, bringing me more and more pain each day. I would wake up and just start on a bottle of whatever was laying around, because the alcohol always lessened the pain. I was drinking myself to death and I was okay with that. She called me into the kitchen and told me that she was expecting and at first I thought it was a joke, but then I saw it in her eyes, she was serious. And do you know what I did? I called up a few friends; I went out to a bar and got completely smashed. I just drank and drank until I made myself so sick that I couldn’t even keep my head up. I remember that it was heavily raining when they finally kicked me out of the bar. I flipped them the bird, and shouted a few ‘fuck yous’ and then staggered off down the street. I didn’t get to far before I fell over, and landed in a puddle completely soaking myself. I just started laughing and laughing while the rain poured down, getting in my eyes and blinding me. I tried to wipe the water out of them with my shirt sleeve when I saw him at the end of the street. It was a little boy, about three years old, all alone watching me. There was something oddly familiar about him. I yelled to him, but he didn’t answer. I tried to stand up but I was so far gone that my legs wouldn’t even support me. I could do nothing but sit there, soaking wet from the rain and saturated from the mud from the puddle and my own piss. The little boy started walking over to me, and as he got closer, I noticed that he was wearing blue and white rocket ship pajamas and carrying a stuffed teddy bear that had a Celtic knot embroidered on its tummy. I kept thinking that this must be some sort of hallucination, until he stopped right in front of me. Holding out his small hands, he offered me his teddy bear, and I don’t know why, but I took it. He smiled at me and I felt this overwhelming sense of good wash over me. It was like suddenly my life had meaning to it again. I heard him giggle, in that high pitched tone that all little boys have at that age and then he waved to me, saying “Goodbye Daddy.” I passed out after that. I have no recollection of how I got home, but when I did I found myself in bed, in clean clothes with some aspirin and a bottle of water next to me. I heard Rhiannon, humming softly as she sat on a rocking chair her parents had given her as a wedding present. The window was open, and there was a gentle ocean breeze blowing in from outside. The sunlight illuminated her hair as it streamed down her shoulders like liquid gold. As I sat up, she turned around to look at me, smiling warmly. My jaw dropped open as I noticed that she had the teddy bear in her arms. I asked her where she got it and she said that I was holding onto it when my buddies found me outside the bar. With a look of great concern on her face, she asked if I was okay. My response to her was, ‘I am better than okay, I am going to be a father.’ I never touched another drop of alcohol after that. I worked so hard to be everything to him that my father never was to me. I wanted him to grow up to be a good person…” Ben’s voice started to grow quiet and a shadow passed over him. “But he was right, in the end, I abandoned him.”

A beeping sound interrupted the moment, as Brock broke the code on the first of the two wrist locks and carefully slid it off his wrist. Ben was starting to tear up, and he moved his arm to wipe away at the tears that were threatening to stream down his face when I noticed something on his finger. “Ben? Where did you get that?” I asked him, trying my best to be calm.

“What? This?” Ben moved his hand around slightly so that I could see that he had his wedding ring on once again. It was the ring that Thomas had given to Lizzie. “Lizzie gave it back to me.” He said.

I started to panic. “When Ben...when did she give it back to you?”

With only one lock holding him down, Ben sat up in the bed, the sheet falling down to his waist, and I could see the slices in his torso that were the telltale handiwork of Burnley. “Just a few minutes ago, after she took care of Brock.”

Brock and I exchanged alarmed glances. “Where is Lizzie?” I asked him.

A voice spoke up from behind us. “She’s right here.”

For a moment, my heart stopped beating and I couldn’t breathe. His voice sounded a little more stressed and painful, but it was still the same seductive and maniacal voice that I had come to absolutely loathe. I didn’t need to turn around, to know who spoke, but I did anyway. I couldn’t believe it was him, I had to be wrong. I had to be… Slowly turning, I looked over to the door and my worst fears had come true. With his arm outstretched, holding onto the front of Lizzie’s throat was Burnley.

He had discarded Ben’s shirt and stood there in front of us, with his bloody chest exposed and those tight leather pants tucked into his high black combat boots. There were layers of blood soaked gauze wrapped around the left side of his head, covering one eye while the other one glared at me in disgust. In one of his hands, he held Lizzie, his fingers clawing and clutching at her neck, partially cutting off her air supply, and preventing her from moving, while in the other hand, he carried a laser rifle, armed and ready to fire. There was a frightening, almost deranged aura to him now; he looked a little less alluring and seductive now, and more crazed and insane. The casual demeanor was gone now, replaced by a terrifying madness that consumed him. As he moved his arm to get a better grip on Lizzie, I could see through all the flaking, drying blood, a fresh line trickling down from the center of his arm, oozing out from a very tiny pin prick. There could be only one reason for this change in him; somehow, he had gotten a dose of the Eden drug.

Benjamin was the first one of us to react. Still tethered down to the gurney by one cuff, he slid off the bed and was on his feet in an instant. Standing next to him, I saw him hit the floor before anyone else did. The moment he had made it to a upright position, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him, bringing him crashing down to his knees. With his hand and arm still attached to the metal rail, he fell down and landed painfully on the floor beside the bed with his arm stretched out high above his head. Grabbing the crumpled up sheet, I pulled it off the bed and wrapped it around him, kneeling next to him. I wasn’t sure if he looked terrified, shocked, or even relieved that his son was still alive. I could feel him start to shake, and all I could do was wrap one of my arms around him and hold him close to me. I was afraid that he was going into shock.“Burnley…you’re alive?”

“Don’t act so shocked, it’s really no surprise. You surround yourself with liars who only feed you false truths just to placate you and get what they want out of you, father. They are all guilty of it, each and every one of them. In telling you that I was dead, was for the best, luring you into a false sense of security, making it easy for them to get you out of here with minimal effort. It’s much easier to run when there’s nothing holding your feet down.” Burnley’s gaze shifted from Ben to me. “Isn’t that right Bates? Lying again just to get what you wanted? How many times can you resort to using this tactic? You’re no better than I am.” Then he looked at Brock. “…and you fell for it too. After everything I’ve done for you, what a fucking shame! I thought you’d be smarter than this. I told you the truth about Bates, and I thought that you understood how badly he was manipulating you. I see that you didn’t learn your lesson then, you just had to go find out for yourself. Are you happy now? Did you get the answers that you desperately wanted? Tell me something Brock, after they shot you, and your blood was dripping down onto the floor, did Dustin talk to you, whispering sweet words to you and making it all better? Did he tell you that he loved you, convincing you that everything was going to be okay, and there was a better life waiting for you just outside the doors there? All you had to do was help him get Benjamin free from those locks and then you could all be on your way, together forever. A happy ending, for the two of them, but not you Brock. Never you.”

I glanced over to Brock, who stood motionless, holding his injured shoulder in extreme pain, trapped and unable to speak. His head was lowered, he was unable to look Burnley in the eyes. His gaze was fixated on the floor. It was Ben who spoke up, defending him. “Leave him the fuck alone! Brock doesn't need your bullshit, and neither do we.” He shouted. I reeled back, shocked and astonished at the force in his voice. It was commanding and powerful, a glimpse of the past coming back to haunt me. He tried to stand up, to confront Burnley, but his legs wouldn’t let him. He sank back down to the floor and shouted to his son. “You son of a bitch, all you do is talk! I am getting sick of hearing you pit us against one another with your worthless words! Why don’t you stop being a coward, and come over here to prove that you’re as bold as your words are? Stop hiding behind a woman. Let Lizzie go and we can settle this, just the two of us, the moment you’ve been waiting for!”

The look of sheer terror on Lizzie’s face was indescribable as she remained trapped in Burnley’s clutches. Squirming a bit, she tried to free herself but he quickly tightened his grasp on her, pulling her small body in close to his. I realized that the gun that Brock had dropped when she shot him was laying just a few feet away from me on the floor, next to the vial of the Eden drug. I couldn’t risk going for it and leaving Ben’s side. Burnley was focused on us and any sudden movement would cause him to hurt Lizzie.

“YOU DON’T GET TO CALL ME A COWARD; YOU FUCKING ABANDONED YOUR FAMILY!” Burnley shouted back. Ben’s verbal challenge had obviously angered him, and he responded by raising his voice and shouting even louder. Lizzie trembled in his arms so violently that it attracted his attention. He leaned forward and brought his face close to hers, breathing in deeply and then smiling at her. “I can smell your fear Lizzie. It’s the same as before. Do you remember how wonderful it felt, being hooked up to all those machines, and having all those tubes, wires...and other things…inserted into your body... penetrating you? You should thank me; I gave you a new life.” Tears started to pour down her cheeks and Burnley bent down with parted lips, licking them away. As she cried, he started laughing. I heard Brock move slightly next to me. He had seen the gun on the floor and he was going to go for it. Burnley was momentarily distracted by this grim macabre display of control over Lizzie, and this would be the only chance Brock had to get the weapon. My heart went out to the poor girl, suffering in that revolting embrace, but there was nothing that I could do to stop it. Lizzie looked at Ben and I, her eyes pleading for help. Once again, Ben tried to pull himself to his feet, but the moment I felt him move beside me, I reached out and pushed him back down. He gave me a quizzical look and then I subtly motioned over toward where Brock was inching towards the gun. Lizzie saw it then too, and knew what she had to do.

Summoning all her strength, Lizzie locked her elbow and craned it into the wound that I had made in Burnley’s side with the scalpel two days ago. As the bone hit his infected and festering flesh, there was a sickening thud but nothing else. Burnley did not flinch or react to it at all, almost as if he didn’t feel it. Her attempt at escape infuriated him even further. Ignoring everyone else in the room, he lashed out at her with the laser rifle he had in his hand and struck her across the head with it. Screaming out in pain, Lizzie’s vision became distorted and blurry as the blood from a deep gash that had formed across her forehead pumped down onto her face. At the same time, Brock took the opportunity to dive across the floor and pick up the gun that had been dropped earlier. The moment his fingers wrapped around the handle, he immediately stepped in front of Burnley and held it up. Burnley let go of Lizzie’s neck now, as she was too dazed to struggle and held her up by the hair instead.

“You have what you wanted now, Burnley. Listen to your father let her go!” Brock demanded. I was completely taken back by this sudden change in him. This wasn’t the sweet, innocent Brock that I had met so many years back on Earth. He didn’t have the same meek, quietness to him any longer, but instead a strange, new-found confidence that resembled Ben in so many ways. It was almost as if I was looking at the same soul now, but in two bodies.

Burnley released Lizzie, letting go of her hair and dropping her down to floor. I wanted to call to her, tell her to move away from the sick bastard, but she was still in a state of confusion from the blow to the head and unable to react. She slumped down into a sitting position at Burnley’s feet, momentarily out of danger. Brock still kept the gun pointed at Burnley as he took a step away from Lizzie and approached him. Next to me, Ben whispered. “Dustin, this is bad. We have to get out of here. You need to find a way to get this lock open. Right now.”

I looked at him, shocked. “I can’t decipher the codes. Brock is the only one who can do that. It’s going to be okay now, Brock’s got Burnley cornered. I am going to go see how bad Lizzie is hurt. Wait here a moment, Ben. I will be right back.” As I moved to stand up, Ben grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down. “What are you doing?” I asked.

Ben shook his head. “I have a bad feeling.” Frantically, Ben tried to loosen the chain that held him in place, but it didn’t move.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked back towards where Burnley and Brock were standing. Brock still had his arm outstretched and the gun pointed, but Burnley had moved closer now so that he was merely an inch away. Stepping forward, he took hold of Brock’s hand and moved his arm down so that the barrel of the gun was pointing directly at his heart in the center of his chest. “Go ahead.” Burnley said. “Do what Bates couldn’t do. Do what my own father couldn’t do. Be the one who ends my life.” Burnley’s voice was quiet, and I was struggling to hear it. His tone was so soft and gentle, almost soothing again; a dramatic change from a few minutes ago. “When you pull that trigger, Brock… two things are going to happen. One is that I will die. There will be no avoiding it, at all. You will have saved your friends, a hero. But also… in taking my life, you will be also taking the life of the very person who truly understands and loves you. Which am I to you? Am I the psychopath with a cold heart who has committed horrible crimes, or am I the one who held you in his arms when they all cast you aside carelessly? I’ve been trying to help you, to make you see that if you go with them, nothing will change. You will be lost. I am the only one who has believed in you from the very start, and if you pull that trigger right now, I will still take the love that I have for you with me to the grave. I will have died by the hand of the only one person I thought I could truly feel something for. You bring me to life, and if you wish to take it too, I won’t judge you for that.” Burnley reached out and brushed his fingers across Brock’s cheek and I saw his arm start to falter. “Don’t be afraid of love.” Burnley then whispered something into Brock’s ear and then much to my surprise, Brock lowered the gun.

Without thinking, I shouted. “Brock, NO!” He turned around to look at me, a apologetic look on his face, and behind him, I saw Burnley smiling.

“Brock, there comes a time when you have to stop crossing oceans for people who wouldn’t even jump in puddles for you. Now is that time. Let them drown in the sea of despair that they've created.” He chuckled and then sighed to himself. He gingerly touched the wound on Brock’s arm and he winced. I couldn’t help but to think that this would be how Brock spent the rest of his life now, being constantly tortured physically and emotionally forever. Burnley turned his attention back to me. “Since you have you been so generous to me, in returning Brock to my side, I am going to do you a favor, I am going to let everyone go. I don’t give a shit about the Messengers. Let them have their dying planet.”

“Now you’re the one who is lying, Burnley!” I shouted. My patience with him was quickly running out, and so was the time that we had left.

“I am not, and I will prove it to you.” He motioned for Brock. “I want you to go over there and enter the code to free Benjamin, set him free, will you? I am getting tired of seeing him suffer like that, like some sort of wounded animal.” Brock shoved the gun into his pants and didn’t even hesitate before returning back to the gurney and starting to work on the code again.

I grabbed hold of Brock’s good hand and gripped it tightly, pleading with him. “He’s playing you again, don’t you see that. He doesn’t love you. It’s all a elaborate ruse to get you to go to the past with him and assassinate all the future members of the F.E.C. and us as well. Seriously, think about it. Why would he love you!??”

Brock stopped for a moment, and I could see his fingers where shaking more than I had ever seen before in my entire life. Tears were streaming down his face. I didn’t understand why he was so emotional all of a sudden. Wiping his tears away with the makeshift sling, he started working again, faster than ever, avoiding me.

Ben turned and looked at me, shocked. “Dustin. Do you hear what you just said? You need to shut up right now, you’re making things worse.”

“No Ben, he needs to hear it from someone who isn’t fucking insane! Brock, this is all a complete mess. You should NEVER have listened to him in the first place! He won’t let us go, he’s going to kill us, all of us, including Lizzie! Are you going to let him get away with that?” I pleaded. Brock wasn’t listening. He was too messed up inside his head now for rational thought. The only way that I could get him out of there now was by force. Fuck Burnley for making Brock think that he was in love with him! Screaming in rage, I punched the mattress as Ben looked on in dismay. The last lock that held his wrist down to the gurney released and he slipped his arm free. He exchanged glances with Brock for a moment, before Brock started to walk away. What was going on there? Was I missing something? I tried to reach out and pull him back to me, but Ben grabbed my hand and held it down.

Burnley reached down and pulled a dazed Lizzie up to her knees and moved her in front of him as Brock returned to his side. “There is just one small thing that you need to do before I set you free.” He said in a teasing tone. “Brock would you be so kind as to retrieve that syringe over there on the floor please and give it to Dustin?”

Doing as he was told, Brock picked up the needle and walked back over to me. I looked up at him in defiance. I couldn’t believe that he was listening to Burnley. This was madness. “I don’t want that. Get it away from me. I refuse to play your sick game Burnley.”

Across the room, Burnley rolled his eyes. “God! Why are you so stubborn Bates? You’re going to take that syringe from Brock and inject it into Benjamin. If you do this one simple thing, then you, Lizzie, Brock… and whoever else is still alive at that moment can go free.” Arming the gun, he pointed it at the back of Lizzie’s head. “If you don’t do it. I will blow her fucking brains out. The choice is yours.”

Lizzie was starting to come around and she noticed the barrel of the gun positioned right behind her. Her eyes widened and she looked at me in horror. “Dustin, help me.”

Holding out the syringe in the palm of his hand, Brock held it right in front of me. He had the same, cold, heartless expression on his face as he did outside in the hall before. Everything that I had said to him, was worthless and wasted. I thought that perhaps I was able to reach him, to make him understand that he belonged with us, but it didn’t work. I failed him. I brought him back from Burnley’s grip twice now, there wouldn’t be a third time. I made a mistake back in the infirmary that would haunt me now for the rest of my life. This betrayal was much worse than what Burnley had done to my body, this hurt me right down to my soul. He had taken Brock’s spirit and twisted it and turned it into something as dark as his own, all because of one simple error in judgment on my part. I looked at the amber liquid swirling around in the syringe in Brock’s hand and then up to his face. There were still flecks of fresh blood there from where he had been shot, and I could see that Burnley had smeared them, leaving behind horrible red fingerprints on his face. I turned away. “NO.”

“Dustin… you have to do this.” I glanced over to Ben, and saw such a open, honest sadness there in his eyes, a direct opposite of Brock’s harsh glaring stare. “You have a chance at getting out of here, take it. I don’t think that he’s lying to you, he will let you go, but you have to do what he says. You can take Lizzie, find Thomas and get out of here. It’s me that he wants, it’s what he’s wanted since he was first brought to Prox. He needs his father. Let me deal with him.”

I was filled to the max with rage and anger and I couldn’t contain it anymore. “FUCK YOU BEN! I FOUGHT SO HARD TO HAVE YOU BACK, AND I AM NOT LETTING YOU GO!” I screamed at him as loudly as I could. My voice echoed off the walls and through the large room. I felt color rushing to my cheeks and spreading across my face. My chest was tight and it was hard to breathe. Now it was my turn to cry.

Reaching out, Ben grabbed hold of me and pulled me into his arms. For the first time in months, I was right where I wanted to be. I could smell the sweat on his skin, and feel the layers of dried blood that covered him. The thin sheet that was pulled up around his chest slipped down to around his waist, and the heat from his flesh was almost intoxicating, and I wanted to smother myself in that musky, heavy perfume. Even though he had been wasting away in a cell for months, his arms were still incredibly strong and powerful, and I remained trapped there, a willing victim. He didn’t say a word to me at first, simply held me against him and let me cry. My tears were streaming down his back in what felt like rivers for a long time, but he did not protest. I was completely overwhelmed by him, I needed this so bad. It felt like the first time he had ever held me in his arms. My stomach felt queasy and my body refused to respond. He took away all the hurt, all the pain and agony and all I could think about was him. I wanted to go home. I wanted to take him home with me. I hated Prox. I wanted to go back to the way that things were. I didn’t want to be a hero, saving the planet, or anything like that. All I wanted to be is the singer of a band, one who got to tour every night with Benjamin Burnley… but I knew that was all gone now. It was all in a past that was buried so long ago.

“I know how hard you fought, Dustin, but it’s time to stop now. You’ve done everything you could here, and you’ve done your best. Now it’s my turn to sacrifice something. I want you to take the others and walk out of here.” Ben said quietly to me in his low, baritone voice that always gave me the chills.

“I can’t. Don’t you see that I can’t let you go? Burnley is right. I am completely incapable of walking away and forgetting you. Ben, I love you like I've loved no one else in my entire life. You are a part of me that I cannot be without. On Earth, after you died, all I could think about was you, so much so that I drove myself to insanity. Then I got you back, here on Prox and I swore to myself that nothing would ever come between us. And now... here you are asking me to fucking kill you? I.. I.. I can't do it. I won't do it.” I tightened my arms around his strong back and held him close to me, hoping that he could feel the desperation in my words.

To my surprise, he pushed me away slightly and laid his hand alongside of my face. “In a perfect world we could be together, but Prox is far from perfect, it's broken just like us. Something has to be done to stop the world from falling apart. If giving up my life means that a thousand others will be saved, then I am okay with that.” Benjamin smiled at me and I looked deep into his eyes. All the amber color flecks had faded now as the time passed, leaving the most exquisite gray-green color that I had ever seen in my life. His eyes were clear and bright, free of all pain and sorrow and carried a look of hope and promise within them. “All that I ask is that you be the one to do it.” He glanced over briefly at Burnley. “Don't give him the satisfaction.” Benjamin reached up and took the syringe from Brock and held it out to me. Across the room, Burnley pushed the gun harder into the back of Lizzie's head and she let out a slight whimper.

Holding the syringe out to me, I stared at it and shook my head. “No no no. I can't. Please Ben don't make me do this.”

Benjamin picked up my hand and put it in it, wrapping my fingers around it and then his hand around mine. He sat up slightly and the thin sheet shifted and looked more like a death shroud now, loosely wrapped around his body. He reached around my head and ran his fingers through the back of my hair and brought his lips to the center of my forehead, placing a gentle kiss there. His lips felt like fire on my icy cold skin. There was something to that kiss that felt like a final goodbye and I hated every single moment of it. “We found each other once before, through time and space. I will do it again. I promise.”

Sitting back Ben tilted his head to the side, and closed his eyes. I glanced back over to Lizzie, her face was ashen white and her head was bowed down slightly, the hair in front of her eyes was caked and matted thick with the blood from her head wound. Her bottom lip was trembling slightly and her hands were shaking as she sat on the floor in front of Burnley. Brock was standing slightly behind me, just out of my peripheral vision. I was glad that I couldn't see his face, I couldn't bear to look at him anyway. It was all my fault that this was happening. This was all on me, every bit of it. I gripped the needle in my hand and leaned over to Ben. His chest was rising and falling with each deep breath that he took, calm and steady. There was a bright blue vein running down the length of his neck that Brock had pricked before that caught my eye. All I had to do was insert the needle into it and push the plunger down. I'd give Burnley what he wanted but was completely incapable of doing himself, and that was killing his own father. In order to save all my friends, and Prox itself, I had to destroy the one single thing that I loved the most. Burnley knew this and took pride in knowing that he perfectly orchestrated this moment. We had all been played like pawns in a chess match from the moment we arrived here, and now the game was almost over. He had his checkmate. “Benjamin...” I whispered to him. “...please...”

Opening his eyes he smiled at me and took my hand in his, flipping it over and kissing my knuckles. “After I am gone, you may be the only person left who believes in you, but it's enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.” A lump formed in my throat, he was looking right at me. I wanted him to close his eyes again, please don't look at me Ben... don't look at me when I do this. I don't want to do this.. my heart is breaking. I can't end your life... we're so close... It can't end this way... I brought my shaking hand up to his neck, I couldn't keep my fingers still. He took hold of my wrist and steadied my hand, bringing the tip of the sharp needle to his neck. I could feel the resistance of his skin lurking just under it. My heart was breaking. With his hand over mine, he pushed the needle through and stifled a small cry. Once again, he closed his eyes and let his hand fall down and rest on my thigh. All that was left to do was for me to push the plunger down. Ben smiled at me again, and whispered. “The rest is up to you.”

That smile reminded me of the night that I met him in my hotel room. It felt like years had passed since then. So much had changed, but one thing always remained constant, and that was the love that we shared for one another. I leaned forward, and brought my lips to his. My thumb was resting on the plunger. I wanted to be kissing him when the poison entered his veins. I wanted his breath on my skin as the drug entered his heart and made it explode. I needed to feel the last remnants of living leaving him so that I could remember how he was when he was still alive. I would form a ocean of thoughts from these memories and then one day, when the pain and grief was just too much to bear I would drown myself in them, letting them carry me away, far out to sea and just disappear. Benjamin felt my lips touch his and he parted them slightly, and I sank down into a intoxicating, final goodbye kiss. I started to press down on the syringe, I could feel the drug start to move into the needle.

Silence fell over the room now. Benjamin took one last breath, and then suddenly I felt the needle being jerked out of my hand. I looked up to see Brock lunging forward and taking the syringe from me. As he bolted in front of me, Ben's eyes shot open and he grabbed the gun from Brock's belt. With a great amount of strength, he pushed me aside, knocking me over and down onto the floor. Burnley, seeing what Brock had done, snarled and changed his target from Lizzie to Brock. Deciding to change his victim was his crucial mistake, giving Benjamin enough time to rise up to his feet and fire off a around at his son. The bolt of electricity hit it's mark, and Burnley spun around, holding his head in his hands and screaming out in pain, dropping his weapon. Lizzie took the opportunity and scrambled away from him, trying her best to get to her feet. I watched as she moved as quickly as she could, and then stopped, her eyes fixed and focused on something. Ben made his way across the room to where Burnley was still standing, the white sheet trailing out behind him like a shadow of light. His pale skin and dark hair made him look more like some sort of God than a man at that moment. Burnley turned back around to face his father, and I saw Ben hesitate and take a step back. His shot had made impact with Burnley's head, blasting through his good eye and exiting through the side of his skull. There was a tremendous amount of damage to the soft tissue on his face. Both of his eyes were completely destroyed now. He was blind.

Burnley started laughing. “Do you honestly think you are going to be rid of me that easily?” Raising his hand up, he wiped away some clots of blood that were starting to form over the open wound and then flicked them onto the floor. “Don't you know that I LOVE pain? I thrive on it, it excites and entices me. One taste of it and I want more. Go ahead and shoot me, riddle my body with your bolts of electricity and torment. Feed me what I crave for I will give you such pain and retribution in return that you will beg me for mercy. I will show you what true fear feels like. For I am the darkness, the death that will descend upon you with dark wings and tear out your soul with my bare hands.”

“It's over Burnley.” Ben said. “This is the end for you. The darkness that you have so lovingly surrounded yourself with and boasted so pridefully about now is yours for eternity. I hope that you can live with yourself and the things that you have done.” Benjamin turned around and looked down at me. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Burnley was not a threat anymore. It was finally over. Ben stretched his arm outward to help me to my feet and I reached up to take it, not noticing Burnley reaching into his boot and drawing out a blade. The glint of the shiny metal caught my eye as he lunged forward in the direction of the sound of his father's voice, lashing out with the deadly blade. I tried to call out to warn Ben, but even while injured, Burnley was still fast. Merely inches away from Ben's body, Burnley pulled his arm back, to bring the knife down and plunge it into his spine when suddenly he stopped. Ben whirled around in time to see Burnley release the blade and drop to his knees, with the long shaft of a sword sticking out of his stomach. Standing behind him, holding onto the weapon was Thomas Bell.


End file.
